The technology of the present disclosure relates to an optical scanning device and an image forming apparatus including the same.
An optical scanning device (an exposure device) installed in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a light source that emits light for exposure and a scanning optical system that deflects and scans the light from the light source onto a surface to be scanned. In addition, the scanning optical system is configured with lenses, mirrors and the like.
Such an optical scanning device has a casing for accommodating the scanning optical system in order to suppress dust from being attached to the lenses and the mirrors. For example, the casing includes a housing having an accommodation area where the scanning optical system is accommodated, and a cover that closes an opening of the accommodation area of the housing.
Herein, when the housing and the cover are firmly and closely adhered to each other, no rattling occurs in the cover and furthermore, there is almost no entrance of dust into the accommodation area of the housing. However, each dimension of the housing and the cover varies within a tolerance range. Consequently, actually, rattling occurs in the cover and dust enters into the accommodation area of the housing.
In this regard, in the aforementioned optical scanning device, there has been proposed to separately provide an elastic member for enhancing an anti-vibration property and a dustproof property in the housing. This elastic member is installed along a peripheral wall of the housing and is elastically engaged with a peripheral wall of the cover mounted to the housing. In the state in which the peripheral wall of the cover has been engaged with the elastic member, the cover is pressed with respect to the housing by elastic force (restoring force) of the elastic member. In this way, an upper end of the peripheral wall of the housing and the cover are closely adhered to each other.